Chapter 14 - THE MADNESS OF THE DISINHERITED AND THE LONG DRIVE INTO DARKNESS
The road to the beach house was a serpentine path through ancient pines and jagged cliffs.
The headlights behind me were a constant,
menacing presence,
a reminder that the past was never truly behind you.
I knew it was him.
I could feel his desperation through the cold glass of the windshield.
Julian had nothing left to lose,
and a man with nothing is a man without limits.
I accelerated,
my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
The engine of my car groaned,
a protest against the steep incline and the frantic pace.
I thought about calling the police,
but what would I say?
'My brother is following me to a house I took from him'?
By the time they arrived,
whatever was going to happen would be over.
This was a Sterling matter,
and we had always handled our blood in private.
I saw the turnoff for the cliff road,
a sharp,
dangerous curve that led to the house.
I took it without braking,
the tires screeching on the wet asphalt.
The car behind me didn't hesitate,
veering wildly but keeping pace.
I reached the gate of the beach house and hit the remote,
the heavy iron bars swinging open with agonizing slowness.
I drove through and slammed the remote button again,
praying the gates would close before he could slip through.
They clicked shut just as his bumper touched the metal.
I saw him then,
through the rearview mirror,
illuminated by the harsh glare of my own brake lights.
He jumped out of his car—a battered sedan he must have stolen or borrowed—and began to scream at the gate.
I didn't stop to listen.
I drove up the long driveway to the house,
parked,
and ran inside,
locking every door and window behind me.
The house felt different tonight.
The silence was no longer peaceful;
it was expectant.
I went to the kitchen and grabbed a heavy iron poker from the fireplace,
my hands shaking so hard I almost dropped it.
Outside,
the wind had picked up,
howling through the eaves and rattling the shutters.
And then,
the sound I had been dreading.
A window shattering in the basement.
He was inside.
I stood in the center of the dark living room,
the only sound the rhythmic thudding of my own heart.
"Mia!"
his voice echoed up the stairs,
hollow and distorted.
"You think you’re so smart?"
"You think you can just take it all?"
"This house is mine!"
"Everything you have belongs to me!"
He sounded like a child,
a spoiled,
broken child who had finally been told 'no' for the first time.
But he was a child with a weapon,
and a mind fueled by a lifetime of entitlement.
I retreated into the shadows of the hallway,
the iron poker gripped tight in my hands.
The hunter was in the house,
but he didn't realize that I knew every inch of this place.
I had spent my summers hiding in these rooms from the very cruelty he was now bringing to my door.
May you like
This was my sanctuary.
And I was going to defend it.
Related Stories
